


Yes, There's Even Rude Bits in Botany Nomenclature

by nagasvoice



Category: The Losers - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-09
Updated: 2013-09-09
Packaged: 2017-12-26 01:51:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/960175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nagasvoice/pseuds/nagasvoice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Warning for Jensen reading the rude bits in the local wild plant guides.<br/>Cougar already knew about it, of course, hunter and survivalist that he is.<br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	Yes, There's Even Rude Bits in Botany Nomenclature

**Author's Note:**

> Slightly edited from a fill on a prompt by oneil on fic_promptly.  
> http://fic-promptly.dreamwidth.org/

"Did you know that the word orchid is derived from orchis, the Greek word for testicle?"

Roque rolls his eyes, flings his cards onto the rickety table in disgust, snatches his half-full bottle of beer away from Clay's reaching hand, and stomps off to the back of the house. They hear the bathroom door bang shut. That means the Guns & Ammo magazines piled on the toilet tank will get a workout while he tries to outwait the natural results of a week's worth of MRE's.

Everybody else swings their eyes around to Cougar. He's their medic, their herbalist and deer hunter, their natural authority on which plants you can eat raw, which plants you can throw in with the wild pig in the pot, and which plants will lay you out faster than poison frog skins or rattler venom. Also, what to do about it when somebody eats something stupid.  Such as, say, a week's worth of MREs, which will shut down even an iron set of guts like Roque's.

Cougar grunts, tilts back on his chair, taps the table. Pooch deals him a card.

"Orchis mascula," Cougar says, half-hidden under the hat brim. But his mouth gives a little quirk.

"Hey, you can eat this one!" Jensen is whipping open stuff on his laptop, eyes jerking along lines of text. "Purple flower spike, yeah, it's all over the Caucausus, most of Europe-- God, don't you love these amateur edits on Wikipedia?"

Pooch looks over at Clay and rolls his eyes, while Clay just shakes his head sadly over his cards.

Jensen starts using his pompous librarian voice. "A flour called salep or sachlav is made of the ground tubers of this or some other species of orchids. It contains a nutritious starch-like polysaccharide called glucomannan. In some magical traditions, its root is called Adam and Eve Root. It is said that witches used tubers of this orchid in love potions."

Cougar sniffs.

Clay nods. "Peasants going hungry, any wild food would help."


End file.
